Angela Merkel reportedly had to explain the 'fundamentals' of EU trade to Trump 11 times

Germany's
Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks as U.S. President Donald Trump
looks on during their joint news conference in the East Room of
the White House in Washington, U.S., March 17,
2017.REUTERS/Joshua
Roberts

President Trump did not understand that the US cannot negotiate a
trade deal with Germany alone and must deal with the European
Union as a bloc, a senior German official told The Times of London.

"Ten times Trump asked [German chancellor Angela Merkel] if
he could negotiate a trade deal with Germany. Every time she
replied, 'You can’t do a trade deal with Germany, only the EU,'"
the official said.

They continued: "On the eleventh refusal, Trump
finally got the message, 'Oh, we’ll do a deal with Europe
then.'"

Merkel reportedly told her cabinet members that Trump
had "very basic misunderstandings" on the "fundamentals" of the
EU and trade.

The exchange occurred when Merkel met with Trump last month
and reportedly convinced him to negotiate with the EU as a bloc
after attempts by his administration to deal with individual
countries were declined.

The conversation led Trump's administration to realize that
it was more vital to US interests to nail down a trade deal with
the EU than one with the UK post-Brexit, a source close to
the White House told the Times.

Trump's new stance is similar to the one adopted by former
president Barack Obama, who warned that the UK would be "at the
back of the queue" if it followed through with
Brexit.